Trek Madone SLR 2023 Review: How Fast is it Really? With Wind Tunnel Testing... 

That color is sick. Makes the bike look so much more premium.

Impressive to see a wind tunnel test included in the review against your ride impressions. Feel counts for a lot though, and bombing down the hill on that must be amazing. That black and white paint job (with invisible Trek logo?) looks suitably stunning too! Love your channel!!!

please get more bikes on the wind tunnel test. great to see the comparisons :)

Patiently waiting for the new Propel vs your TCR test 😀

Tx David for These recent videos. Wind tunnel testings are amazing. Combined with weight info and price, makes choosing the bicycle to buy much easier. Curious to see performance of Canyon Aero CF SLX and specialized Tramac SL7 in wind tunnel.

Interesting result. This tells me that my Giant TCR is more than enough and no reason to get another bike. Thanks as I am still happy with my TCR

Really interesting video Dave, and it’s very useful to show the difference between bikes and your TCR - congrats. What I’d be really interested to see is a comparison between your Enve wheels, and some shallow profile ones. I’ve got bikes with both, and whilst the deep section wheels feel, and sound fast, it’d be really valuable to see what the actual differences are in the tunnel, especially as deep section wheels can be tricky to handle in windy conditions - making me question just how beneficial they are. Thanks

Thanks for the in depth review David. Bike looks great.

The wind tunnel data is fantastic! I love that you compare it to the TCR so there is a point of reference.

Great review Dave I have noticed the improvement in your reviews now doing wind tunnel testing 👍🏾that’s very radical, but much more informative. Keep up the good work 👏🏾. I like the Madone but the price is OMG how much!😮

bottom line is the tcr is a great all round bike, from racing flats, hill climbs and light gravel. what a bike!

I picked up my Madone SLR9 Gen 7 a few days ago. Here are some real world numbers from my own experience: Old bike (Time Skylon with Shimano DuraAce Di2 11sp) 30.7 mile loop, 18.8 MPH average speed at 182 W weighted avg. power 1:38:22 ----- New Madone (Shimano DuraAce Di2 12sp) 30.7 mile loop, 19.3 MPH average speed at 176 W weighted avg. power 1:35:24. It actually FEELS much faster as well, crazy the amount of difference it makes. Granted, the Time is about 6 years old, but still, a HUGE difference.

Thanks for the video. Would be really interesting if you swapped to aero handlebar on the tcr comparison as well.

Thanks David. Very detailed review as always....I just keep thinking how bikes are outrageously priced.

V. interesting video David. Glad to see you are using Zefal Pulse L2 bottlecage (nice looking, super-light but a little bottle-rattling cage on paved roads). Can't wait the TREK vs Giant comparison.

Directly comparing a racing aero bike to a "just a good bike" in a wind tunnel turned out to be a great idea. I think I'm not the only one who was very surprised at how small the difference is for an amateur cyclist. Now, when choosing my next bike, I will think less about the advertised aero-optimization and more about what I really need. Thank you!

i did expect the difference between the madone and TCR to be a bit more; but then when i thought about the details, the wind tunnel results seem more reasonable. if the rider is about 80% of the resistance (and David was sat quite upright on the hoods for these tests so more of a rider contribution to the total than if on the drops or in the aero hoods position) then out of 300 watts, the bike itself (not counting the impact on position from a narrower bar) can only influence the 20% left - 60 watts out of 300. Same wheels - so that reduces the 60 watts the bike can influence by a significant amount......maybe only 30-40 watts left that can be influenced directly by the frame. i can easily see that differences between a full aero frame and a frame that has some beneficial aero features would be 25% or less of the watts left for the frame to influence - so about 10, and even low enough to get lost in the test variability.

Super interesting aero data! Can’t wait for the review of the Propel.

It’s great you are adding the wind tunnel. You’re subjective description of the ride was about how fast it felt, but the wind tunnel didn’t show too much difference from your Giant. That kind of real data is really valuable in a review because some bikes just feel faster, whether or not they actually are.

Great honest review 👏

Hi David Great job with the video as always. Big fan of the new Trek 👍🙂 Mega price tag for a Awesome super bike. 🚴‍♂️👍

Looking forward to the Propel comparison, a SL7 comparison would be great as well but it seems like manufacturers only make media bikes available when they release a new bike, so probably aren't lending out SL7s

Thanks for the in-depth testing (not that I was ever going to consider a bike at that price point). What cycling socks were you wearing when filming the outdoors riding parts? Thanks and best wishes

Great video Dave. I’d love to see you review and your thoughts on a new Factor OSTRO VAM. Keep up the great videos. Always enjoy watching your videos

Great content, keep it up 👍

Great video and great review. Love the comparisons. One question, which glasses and what's your opinion? New Sutros?

Thanks for the review! I am curious as to what computer mount you are using on this bike and how you liked it?

Thanks for the wind tunnel test against the TCR. I have a TCR and it seems that an aero bike would be faster if I were riding solo but not really in the group, and I only happen to care how fast I’m going when with others.

Great video David! not one to leave comments, but I feel this video deserves it. Isolating the frame in the wind tunnel and running tests at 30 and 40 kph makes it relevant to consumers rather than pros. It also helps cut through marketing bs! I hope you do the same with wheels and also start providing a top 10 table of the most aero bikes and wheels (watt savings). This information is so relevant for the people actually buying these expensive products

Thanks great review I brought a new madone last year about 8 months in like others had problems with Isospeed like many riders. There warranty was great and replaced the whole frame but I lost my ideal color. I did order the new one due in dec. I have not seen many reviews , doesn’t look like they have out so many demo bikes to press. Wish someone would test wind tunnel vs old one. U said it’s not as comfortable. We will see

What a great review! I originally had my heart set on this bike in the ultegra model, but I've come to realise that I actually like a less aggressive and more comfy bike than this FULL AERO RACE bike. In the end I went with a Cervelo R5 which is lighter and very noticeably more compliant than my 2021 Trek Emonda SL7. I've come to realise that a max speed aero machine isn't actually the kind of bike I like the most for my kind of riding. I just want something that can climb hills easier and descend confidently, and whether I'm going 55kph at a max sprint vs 60kph on a more aero machine doesnt really mean that much to me anymore. Not even looking to get deep wheels for the R5 any more either

Been waiting for this review, I love the madone and no doubt its a great race bike but difference to a TCR or similar bike ( I am looking at Supersix evo ) is much much smaller than I thought. Although if you race regularly and have experience you can feel 5 to 10W difference as clearly you can David. I think I'll go for the Supersix evo, still relatively qquick but has rave reviews about handling and comfort for crappy roads and all day rides.

This whole series in the wind tunnel is fascinating. I can’t be the only one that would gladly give up 6 watts to build a lighter, easier to work on and live with, TCR versus the aero bikes

Excellent looking bike, and great review, I wonder how it compares to the canyon aeroad

Great review, and thank you for saying what we are all thinking - £13000 to acquire a top bike is ridiculous.

It's a great looking shape with the down tube and rear stays at the same angle. I wonder how those change in a smaller frame? The seat tube is a worry though; they should have stopped fettling or made a 'Pro Team' version and left us mere mortals with the ISOFIX.

Another brilliant review, David! I love that your wind test protocol includes real world speeds that are relevant to average cyclists ❤ I hope other jounralists are watching your videos and scrambling to up their game - you're kicking butt!

It will be interesting to see how the new Propel fairs against the likes of this Madone, the New Foil & updated S5. It seems to sit a bit between the standard road race/climbing bikes and the full on Aero bikes in design do if it delivers in aero terms will be a winner.

Great video, what is your size on your regular bike? I’m having issue with the sizing. I have a 54 venge with a 130 stem -12 degree I’m running a 54 new madone 130 stem but still not comfortable. I wonder if we have to go up in sizing on trek bikes or same sizing. Haven’t really bad issue

Nice review and I agree the cost of this one is joust for sponsored ridders. Love the comparison gives you a good reference point.

Please do stat comparison with 2023 Giant Propel Advanced SL both wind tunnel test & ride feel. Thanks

Hi Dave, really awesome video. Just a question though. I notice that aero road bikes are now considering the unaerodynamic shape of water bottles in their frame design (I believe this was also considered when developing the TCR). Would you be able to conduct future wind tunnel tests with bottles included? I wonder if the TCR might have actually been faster than the Madone with bottles included as the Madone doesn't appear to account for bottles whereas the TCR does. Just thought.

Thanks David, for the wind tunnel comparisons. I think most bike riders know that the big companies are just trying to get everyone to believe that they are "faster, stiffer, lighter" just to sell us something that is simply only a micro- or nano-step better, ie 2 watts faster. These are basically meaningless to the 99 percentile of riders who just love riding, and are not time trialing. Thanks for helping keep the companies accountable, and for your honest reviews! (I feel prices will be dropping soon as the industry is now heading into "correction" mode. Staring to see plenty of sale prices not seen since before pandemic)

Thanks David, how does it compare to the Orbea Orca Aero ?

Any reason why you didn't use water bottles during test? I know the TCR downtube is thicker to improve drag with a water bottle so would have been curious how it would compared with bottles which is more realistic than no bottles. Super awesome to know my TCR fares well against Madone/Ultimate even with exposed cables.

Thank you, David. I'd be interested in a wind tunnel test on a more modest bike. I have an aluminum BMC Team Machine, some exposed cables and not aero optimized. What kind of aero gain would a rider like this realize with an upgrade to a modern aero bike such as the Propel or Madone? Thanks again for the excellent reviews.

Dave if it was your money - would you go for the 2023 Madone or the Pinarello Dogma F ?

David your reviews are great. Balanced, to the point and very insightful. I’m keen to see your ride review of the new Propel as I’m seriously considering getting one, how far away is it. Thanks

Loving the last few vids with the wind tunnel testing. The last comparison proved exposed cables outfront make no difference to drag. This video is super interesting. You have proved that someone spending £13k plus on the Madone only benefits by a few watts at 40kph and only once the wind yaw angle is at 10degrees. Not many people cycle at 24miph or higher. Most people average between 15 - 20mph on their rides and therefore there are no gains to be made with aero bikes. Another proven point, my boss had a 2015 rim brake emonda, in 2018 he upgraded to a Madone and he was no faster , even slower on some segments. Let’s have more of these videos please David,

Hi David, can you comment about the climbing characteristic of this bike? Is it really that bad? Or this can be considered as an all around bike knowing that its geometry is just the same as the emonda minus the weight difference

Nicely done, I would add to your test a subjective test, such as most aero relax position. When you look at you body position on the giant you have little option when holding the top of the handlebar, on the trek like other bike with such handlebar, you can use the top of the handlebar and set your body in a semi tt position. The review should incorporate what the bike allows you to do in a sort of way. Again nice review!

What bottle cage is that on the Madone? Do tell

The bike is as fast as the rider can push efforts on it. Geometry plays a factor but it is all up to the rider. Wow effect +10.

Can you do a video like this for the venge?

Thinking of this or the sl8 tarmac- guessing the sl8 will have more comfort but equally as fast ?

How long do you think before we get a sub-7kg aero road bike at an "accessible" price. I mean a bike that is built light enough to absorb the weight of Ultegra/Force (or lower) level components and still be sub 7kgs.

Cette vidéo est très intéressante, cela va dans le sens de ce que je pense depuis le début sur les fameux tests aéro de TOUR qui réalise des essais aéro de vélos avec un demi mannequin, ce qui ne rend pas compte de la réalité, en effet les résultats aéro ne sont pas pareil quand on effectue le test en soufflerie avec un cycliste complet sur le vélo, car la masse du cycliste entier génère des perturbations aéro qui vont au delà du cadre du vélo, donc cela annule les bénéfices aéro des guidons profilés et cadres aéro. C est la position du cycliste qui fait que l'ensemble cycliste + vélo est aéro, les gains sur le cadre et le cintre sont marginaux, du même ordre que les roulements céramiques. Les gains aéro des roues sont par contre moins marginaux car les rayons se déplacent très vite dans l'air et en plus à contre sens du flux d'air, donc plus les rayons sont courts et moins de trainée il en résulte, c'est pour ça que les roues lenticulaires sont très aéro car il n'y a pas de rayons. Les nouveaux cadres aéros type Aeroad joue sur l'image qu'on a des cadres de triathlon / chrono, et laissent penser que c'est la forme aéro du cadre qui est responsable des gains de vitesse, alors que c'est uniquement la position du cycliste qui en est la cause. D'ailleurs il suffit de regarder les courses cyclistes professionnelles pour se rendre compte que les cyclistes professionnels peuvent gagner avec un cadre polyvalent et non optimisé niveau aéro, tel les Lapierre Xelius ou Canyon Ultimate. Dans les pelotons amateurs, on peut voir que le vélo a encore moins d'importance sur les résultats de courses, des coureurs gagent avec des vélos d'ancienne génération dont le cadre est non travaillé sur le plan aéro.

Might need to check your comparison prices: the S Works SL7 is13250 with same SRAM group. So basically the same price not "much cheaper".

Does the weight of the bike included pedals ? BikeRadar weight the bike same size is 7.29kg

Can you review Java Fuoco 5 disc j-air 2022 bike ?

So I’m assuming this trek is prob close to as aero as any other of the new best aero bikes so do you think it’s safe to assume the tcr would do about the same against a canyon aeroad or cervello s5 ?

Good review Dave and interesting results but the price is outrageous. You could by a nice used motorbike for that money. Or several top used bikes; road, gravel and mountain.

what color is this? silver matte or some custom white?

I do like the stem area, beefy but refined.

wow , makes me wonder if the "aero bike" is a bit of marketing hype . I love your video, thanks for sharing

This and the Cervelo S5 are the most appealing bikes to the eye

Does it include a HANDLEBAR recall?

good work... I know you ha e mentioned the cost of the wind tunnel is somewhat prohibitive.. but if you go a few more times with different bikes you may just come to the conclusion that there is maybe 20 watts difference between the most aero and the least.. and a Lot of bikes in the middle.. leaving no real need to do more aero testing

Thanks for honest review david. Uncomfortable and only marginally quicker than a climbing big...like most aero offerings tbh

Hello, great review, may I ask how tall you are,? not sure what size to go for ( I'm 180 cm and between a size 56 and 58) ...

Great review. Wind tunnel test tells the data story. Real world test tells stiffness story - which is the DNA of the bike, if that's what you want. Very informative review 👍

So if you are riding the whole day in the peloton, how important is aero than if you compare the Madonna with the TCR?

A guy in my group ride just bought one with ultegra di2, not sure the exact frame grade. Looks better in the black I think in that design. The thing is the young amateur racer that would benefit the most is priced out from these bikes. Personally I'd go the emonda for an all around bike.

Bro, how about BMC TeamMachine SLR01 TeamPro?

please do the same test to new giant propel

Aero test between a top end rim brake bike and this one please.

It's beautiful

Normally when we have relatively "drastic" new designs with bikes, there is initial backlash leading to acceptance and enjoyment of the aesthetics over time. After initially really liking the look of the bike design, I'm not sure if the paint schemes aren't doing as many favors for the bike compares to previous Trek bikes (which were almost saved by very nice paint options), but I'm liking the design less over time. Something about the shape of the stem seems a little clunky compared to other bikes as well as not maintaining the clean elegant lines in the frame design, and I think proportionally the frame shape kind of lends itself to the clunky descriptor (not talking about aero or actual speed, just looks). The two tone paint scheme wasn't really utilized to its full potential in my opinion, as I think they could have made some of the more beefy parts of the frame look slimmer which would have added to the overall look.

They should make a proprietary 'saddle' bag for that weird cavity.

Pls test the tdf cervelo s5

The wind tunnel test result is one thing. But like what Dave has said, on the real road you actually feel faster. This means the bike actually gives additional confidence and inspire you to go even faster. This additional benefit is not accounted for in the wind tunnel result.

As it is great to see these high end bikes, would be nice to see similar testing from the other end of the spectrum. Probably more people would be interested in some more budget friendly bike options, and seeing how they compare against your "standard" giant tcr, as reference.

hi, what is this colour?

Really fascinating putting side-by-side "real road" perception ("blazing fast!") with wind tunnel results (2% faster comparing to your Giant). That makes me thinking: is this whole wind-tunnel testing a big BS? Another thing - 40km/h at 300W. From my experience - sounds _almost_ right. But what are your real life results? How many Watts you have to smash to keep 40 km/h on Trek? Cheers!

P.S. I’ve owned the new Enve 4.5s and rate them really highly all around.

I can't decide if I like this or not. But I'm pretty sure I'd like it if I had one.

❤you got my attention ❤️ for testing at low normal human speeds. This is very useful. Any chance you can borrow Scott Foil from Francis Cade to see the difference between all these bikes?!

Nice looking bike, but I’m really scared about that seatpost “iso speed”. That thing looks like it’s going to fail within a couple of thousand KMs

so good there is no need for bike computer anymore :)

Whats th3 différence btw SLR 7 2024 and SLR 9 2024 please ?

Narrow handlebars probably fit most people better (and can be added to other bikes to make them aerodynamically cleaner).

Change the wheels and tires and you could hit 7kg on the madone. I never change my madone set up so this new one is my next bike. I’m on my third madone. I also run 140 disc on the front. I’ve also crashed my madone and got free wheels and 40% of the frame from trek. You can’t complain about that fir service.

The amount of money that Trek is demanding for the Madone line was obscene with the previous iteration and outright madness with this one. It's to the point where Cervelo and Pinarello are almost bargain brands in comparison.

Why did you say the Sworks tarmsc is cheaper that’s 14.5k compared to 13.2k

Hi.. What size is your giant? Thanks

Eye wateringly (sp) expensive, but I'm a big supporter of 'buy whatever makes you ride more'. If that takes $23 thousand AUD and you can afford it, then so be it. Still, you could get an equally aero road bike from a different vendor with zipp 454nsw for cheaper. Now THAT would make me ride more :).

High price might be partly due to strong $ ?

Do the new Giant Propel vs TCR in Wind Tunnel, that will be really interesting and if you can get a hold of it, a RIM TCR, that will settle alot of discussions

David what do you think of Trek abandoning short people?

It’s about time Trek gave their bike to a genuine reviewer. 👍